Getting It
by Aphrodite100
Summary: Nico doesn't understand what's happening to Annabeth. But can Rachel make him see and understand the mysteries of teenage love? Oneshot.


**AN: Rachel is not the Oracle; she's at camp to visit Percy and Annabeth.**

* * *

Getting It

Rachel Elizabeth Dare had fiery red hair. And it shimmered like crazy in the sun. Nico di Angelo couldn't help but stop and look at her as she dipped her brush in the inky paint and stroked it across the in-progress cabin. He, Rachel, Percy, and Annabeth were putting together the Hades cabin on the grounds of Camp Half-Blood. New cabins were being put up every day, as the gods were now making good on their promise and claiming demigods as their children.

Percy and Annabeth were arguing, as usual. Right now, the current topic was whose name was better. Nico had tuned them out ages ago.

"Are they always like this? They weren't like this before," Rachel asked Nico curiously, while watching the couple intensely. Well, they weren't actually a couple, but everyone knew they would be.

"Well, they either argue or they save the world. Lately, they've been choosing to argue," Nico answered, amused.

Rachel muttered something about 'Percy kissing her and getting it over and done with' and Nico looked at Rachel strangely.

"What? No offense, but he doesn't like you like that," Nico informed her.

Rachel laughed. It was a high, clear sound and Nico found he liked that. What he liked even more was that had made her laugh. He found it did something strange to him.

"No, no I meant Annabeth" she explained, "He needs to hurry up and tell her that he likes her. See, she's mad at him right now 'cuz she likes him and knows that he likes her but he won't admit it," Rachel tried to explain to Nico. Unfortunately, matters of the heart weren't the Son of the God of Death's biggest strength.

"Umm…I don't get it," he said lamely.

"Ok, look at Annabeth; she's looking at him, right?" Nico nodded; that much was obvious even to him. "But look at the way she's looking at him."

"She looks like she's staring at him like she wants to kill him," Nico finally deduced after a couple moments of squinting at the pair.

"Yeah, and why?"

"'Cuz…he's making fun of her name?"

"No, dummy! 'Cuz she wants him to hurry up say that he likes her!" Rachel laughed at Nico's naïveté. Not in a mean way, more in a "you've still got a lot to learn" way.

Nico glared at her. "Hey, I'm not meant for this stuff. All this mushy stuff…not for me. I just don't get it."

"You will, di Angelo. You will," Rachel said, shaking her head.

---

The campers spent the summer training hard and learning how to protect them and others. It was like all previous summers, only everyone was a bit more relaxed. The weeks went by, some slow, some fast.

Summer was good to the dark boy. He grew taller, almost as tall as Percy, who was a skyscraper now. His hair became shinier because of the sun, his skin darker. His features became more prominent, but they fit together nicely. He still had only a few friends, but he was close to them and trusted them. He mainly hung out with Percy, Annabeth, Grover, and Rachel. Rachel eventually became his best friend; Percy and Annabeth really only talked to each other and Grover was busy a lot with searching for demigods and the Council.

He noticed how Rachel changed slowly. She would look at Nico for a little longer than usual, but wouldn't meet his eyes when they were talking. If he moved closer to her, she would sub-consciously take a step back. She gave him these looks, almost like she was expecting him to say something important. But he never understood what she wanted him to say. So he never mentioned it. That and he couldn't figure out the weird looks.

---

It was a Sunday and they were eating lunch on the log by the shore in the shade. Nico was telling Rachel about Silena's plan to get Percy and Annabeth together.

"Nico? Can we please talk about something else?" Rachel pleaded, not looking at him. _Why won't she look at me? Last time I checked, the Aphrodite girls said I was "hot". Apparently I'm the "strong and silent type" whatever that means_, Nico thought to himself.

Nico agreed and changed the subject; they talked about Rachel's ability to see through the Mist and her weird experiences with it.

"I always thought I was crazy. Turns out half the world is," Rachel joked. Nico smiled, then chuckled and Rachel...was she blushing? Nico thought she looked cute when she was blushing.

"You're not crazy," Nico assured her.

"Thanks."

On impulse, Nico reached out and took Rachel's hand. It seemed so natural that neither teen questioned it. After a slight moment of hesitation, they resumed the conversation.

"Want to go for a walk?" Nico asked when they finished eating.

"Sure," Rachel answered, smiling at him.

The pair got up, still holding hands, and walked along the shore, their bare feet in the clear, turquoise water. Something was finally going right in Nico's life…so of course, someone _had_ to ruin it. _Always the wrong timing_, Nico thought bitterly.

"Nick da Angeli, please report to the Big House," a voice sounded. Of course Dionysus was mispronouncing his name.

Nico sighed. "Rachel, I'm sorry, I have to go. Talk to you later?" Rachel nodded, a little disappointed. Without thinking, he gave her an awkward hug. "Bye," he whispered, a little shyly, into her hair. Her arms came around his waist as she pulled his tall, lean form closer to herself.

They broke apart and Nico jogged towards the Big House. _This better be good_, Nico thought to himself.

When he got there, Chiron instructed him to sit. Already there, Percy and Annabeth looked nervous. Grover chewed on a can, wary.

"What's going on?" Nico asked them as he slid into his chair. The three of them shrugged.

Chiron went over to where they say. All four teens looked at the wise centaur expectantly.

"The time has come. We need your help again. You must go on a quest," Chiron told them in hushed tones.

"Why? What's happened that _we_ need to save the world _again_?" Nico asked flatly.

"Your father's helm of darkness…it's gone."

Annabeth and Grover started rambling about possible thieves and where it could be located. Percy started comparing it to the quest to find Zeus's bolt. And Nico just sat there, stunned.

"It's…it's stolen?"

"Not necessarily," Annabeth answered.

"But most likely, yes."

"Then we have to find it. We have to leave. Or it could be _another_ war," Nico stated, already on his way to his cabin to pack. But the real reason he wanted to find it was that maybe, just maybe, if he found the helm, Hades would be proud of his only son.

---

The four campers stood at the top of the hill, about to go back into the mortal world. The rest of the campers watched on somberly from behind. Juniper was in Grover's arms, sobbing uncontrollably, telling him that she would miss him. Percy and Annabeth accepted held hands, talking to the well-wishers, accepting a few gifts. And Nico started into the crowd, searching for a certain mortal. She would be here, wouldn't she? Nico was about to give up looking when a tall figure flew out from the crowd and launched itself at Nico. Just the redhead he'd been looking for.

"Nico! Look, I know you have to go. Just…be careful, ok?" Rachel sniffed, her head on his shoulder.

"I will. I'll come back, I promise," Nico assured her. _If only for you,_ he thought to himself.

Rachel pulled back, whispered "Stay alive, Ghost Boy." Then she shocked Nico. She pressed her lips to his. A cheer erupted from the crowd, and Nico felt his face getting warm. He pulled back after a moment.

"I will," he whispered back to her, pressing their foreheads together, his black eyes looking deeply into the her clear, deep, dark blue eyes.

Nico pulled away reluctantly and passed through the barrier with Percy, Annabeth, and Grover. He looked back at the mortal girl on the other side, and felt a pang in his stomach.

Nico finally understood the looks Annabeth gave Percy; they were the same looks Rachel gave him. He finally understood why Annabeth wouldn't meet Percy's eyes; it was the same reason Rachel wouldn't meet his. And that was because Rachel had a crush on him. And maybe- just maybe- Nico di Angelo had a crush on Rachel Elizabeth Dare.

* * *

**AN: This is the end; there will not be anything about the quest. ~Aphrodite**


End file.
